Scientists Name New Wild Cat From Bolivia — Leopardus tilcayo, First Living Cat Species Described in Over a Century

Researchers have formally identified a tiny wild cat from Bolivia's cloud-covered Yungas as a species new to science. Retaining the local name Tilcayo, the cat has been given the scientific name Leopardus tilcayo, marking the first time a living cat species has been described in more than 100 years.

Small, Elusive, and Genetically Distinct

The Tilcayo is unusually small for a wild felid: about 18 inches (46 cm) long from nose to base of tail and weighing roughly 3 pounds (1.4 kg), smaller than the average domestic cat. Its coat is light brown with irregular rosettes that help it blend into the mossy, shadowed understory of the cloud forest.

"Its fur is light brown ... with irregularly shaped rosettes across its body," said Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a National Geographic Explorer and co-author of the study published in Current Biology.

Genetics Reveal Hidden Diversity

The team analyzed DNA from 38 tiger-cat samples collected across South America, including eight museum specimens. Results show that so-called tiger cats are not a single species but instead represent five genetically distinct lineages. Genetic dating suggests the Tilcayo lineage split from its closest relatives about 1.4 million years ago, a timespan consistent with species-level separation in felids.

Field Observations Are Limited

Direct information about the Tilcayo's behavior and ecology is scarce. Researchers examined two live individuals and a small number of camera-trap records. Scat analysis indicates small rodents are part of its diet, and camera evidence suggests primarily nocturnal activity. One of the examined animals, a 10-year-old male, now lives at Senda Verde Wildlife Sanctuary after being kept by a local family.

Related Findings and Conservation Implications

The study also describes a new subspecies in Peru's Yungas, named Leopardus tigrinus antisuyo. Currently the IUCN Red List treats tiger cats as two 'vulnerable' species; the researchers have shared their results with the IUCN so each of the five lineages can be reassessed separately. Such reassessments could raise the conservation status of small, localized lineages like the Tilcayo to endangered.

Threats to Its Home

Bolivia's Yungas — a biodiverse, montane cloud-forest ecosystem — faces growing threats from deforestation, agricultural expansion, human-caused fires and mining. Authors urge urgent measures including restoring burned forest patches, protecting remaining native forest, and maintaining habitat connectivity to preserve this newly recognized species and the wider ecosystem it depends on.

Why This Matters

As Eduardo Eizirik, a senior author on the study, notes: discovering a new species in a high-profile group like cats underscores how many species may still be undescribed and vulnerable. The find highlights the need for intensified research, monitoring and conservation in the Yungas and similar threatened habitats.